The present invention relates to a rotary agitation type heat treatment apparatus (rotary kiln) that performs agitating and heating treatment, as it rotates, on a material to be treated (which may be referred to as subject material below) and in particular to a rotary agitation type heat treatment apparatus wherein a rotary cylindrical member through which the subject material passes and agitation members disposed in the rotary cylindrical member to agitate the subject material are made of ceramic materials.
There is known in the art a rotary agitation type heat treatment apparatus having a metallic agitation member (blade member having radially extending blades, which may be hereinafter referred to as blade member) disposed inside a metallic rotary cylindrical member for agitation of a subject material or other purposes (see, for example, JP 2000-42437 A).
JP 2000-42437 A describes a crushing/pulverizing/sizing apparatus comprising inside a rotatable cylindrical member a metallic beater member having a plurality of radially extending blades, normally three blades (corresponding to a metallic agitation member) and a rolling shaft extending in the longitudinal direction (the direction of the axis of rotation) of the rotary cylindrical member.
The crushing/pulverizing/sizing apparatus described in JP 2000-42437 A causes a subject material in solid, fluid, or other states to undergo crushing, distributing, pulverizing, sizing or other processing by allowing the metallic beater member (metallic agitation member) to rotate in accordance with the rotation of the rotary cylindrical member and the rolling shaft to move inside the rotary cylindrical member.
JP 2009-00633 A describes an apparatus for performing crushing, distributing, sizing, and other processing on a subject material in solid, fluid, or other states by allowing beads instead of the rolling shaft to move inside a rotary cylindrical member.
A metallic beater member such as one as described in JP 2000-42437 A (metallic agitation member) is provided as a separate member from the rotary cylindrical member in the rotary cylindrical member so that as the rotary cylindrical member rotates, the edge portions of the blades of the metallic beater member (metallic agitation member) hit the inner wall of the rotary cylindrical member. Thus, the agitation member is caused to roll and turn inside the rotary cylindrical member. The impact generated as the edge portions of the blades hit the inner wall of the rotary cylindrical member vibrates the inner wall of the rotary cylindrical member and the agitation member and thereby prevents the subject material from adhering to and seizing to the inner wall of the rotary cylindrical member and the surface of the agitation member, as the subject material is agitated and distributed.
Further, the rolling of the rolling shaft disposed between two blades of the agitation member accompanying the rotation of the rotary cylindrical member prevents the subject material from adhesion and deposition and causes the subject material to crush and distribute.
JP 2009-00633 A further describes efficient pulverization, crushing, sizing, distribution, among others, of the subject material achieved by disposing dispersing media such as beads, balls, and polygons between blades.